When Michael Arndt was replaced as the writer of Star Wars: Episode VII last fall, we
were told it had to do with timing concerns. But according to a new report in
the Hollywood Reporter, the real reason was a disagreement over who the film
should be about: Luke, Leia and Han, or the next generation.

Minor spoilers ahead...

The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog quotes unnamed
sources as saying that Toy Story 3 writer Arndt (and original Star
Wars creator George Lucas) wanted Episode VII to be about the children of
Luke, Leia and Han Solo, but director J.J. Abrams disagreed:

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Arndt is said to have focused on the offspring of Luke
Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie
Fisher), with the original trilogy heroes taking on supporting roles. Abrams,
however, wanted Episode VII to focus on the classic trio of
characters, so audiences could have one more chance to enjoy them before a
fitting send-off. The new characters, the offspring, will now be in supporting
roles, according to these sources, and take center stage in Episode
VIII and IX. Some characters have disappeared from the Arndt
script and new ones are being drafted.

Abrams and co-writer Lawrence Kasdan (who also co-wrote Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back) have
been retooling the script so radically, a lot of the roles that people had been
trying out for are no longer valid. For example, Tye Sheridan (Mud) had been a frontrunner for one role
— but now there's no need for such young actors. Also, one role that had been
envisioned as a 20-year-old male is now a 40-year-old.

But apparently it's true that Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad) is meeting with J.J.
Abrams about a major role. Also, he's met with Adam Driver (Girls) and Michael Fassbender (Prometheus) about roles. Hugo Weaving (The Matrix) is in line to play an
Imperial Commander in the film, which seems like perfect casting.

And there's one more piece of casting rumor: Heat Vision
says Abrams is rumored to be searching for a "20-something female
actress" who is either mixed-race or black. "The
rumor is that Obi-Wan Kenobi had a daughter or granddaughter."

In any case, it's way, way too early to make any judgments about a film that hasn't started shooting yet — but off-hand, a film focusing on a new generation of Star Wars heroes sounds like a somewhat better idea than Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher taking center stage one last time. [Heat Vision]